Thursday, 26 February 2015

Children's Mental Health



We all know how mental health conditions affect adults and the impact it has on their lives, but what about children who are living with the same conditions?
Recent statistics have revealed that 3 children in every class are living with a mental health condition. This statistic is frightening and it highlights a very big problem in child mental health services. Last week, ITV's This Morning held a phone in.  Many of the callers said they found getting the right help and support for their children hard and sometimes impossible.


Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services - CAMHS, do provide help and support for children, Your doctor needs to refer your child to the service.  Referrals can also be made by teachers, health visitors, school nurse and social workers. They work with children up to the age of 18, however, some services will only see children between 16-18 if they are in full time education.

This means some are slipping through the net as they may be classed as too young for adult services and too old for child services.  I have also heard of a few cases where children have been turned down by CAMHS as they didn't feel their condition was severe enough.

I don't think it matter how mild or severe the child's condition is, all children are entitled to the same care, help and support as everyone else.  The government need to look into this in great detail and make this service available to all children ensuring both the child and their family get the support they need.

What are your views on this?

36 comments:

  1. It's very sad that support isn't offered to all. What will happen to these poor kids if they don't get the help they need?

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    1. It is very sad. It worries me that some children are not getting the help they need, it is very concerning. More needs to be done to improve the services making them accessible to all children, the way it should be

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  2. I think the teenage years are key for mental health. It seems a real shame that they don't have proper provision sometimes because of silly rules.

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    1. When children start school and are in a new environment which can be scary, making new friends etc I think that is when we should keep an eye out for any issues. Bullying at school is a massive cause of anxiety and depression in children. So so sad

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  3. Bullying is something I would like to see more done about, my nephew was bullied badly and in the end the only way to stop it was to move him schools x

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    1. Oh no, how is he getting on now? I was bullied in primary school and the head teacher said "bullying does not happen in my school" it clearly did happen as I was moved schools. More needs to be done in regards to bullying, schools need a zero tolerance towards it.x

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  4. It is very sad and my son was referred to CAMHS (he has Autism and kept saying he wanted to kill himself etc) and they refused to see him as the evidence given wasn't enough to warrant them working with him apparently!! ?? My son has been bullied numerous times because he is different! Its awful! He is only 9! Great post!! xx

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    1. oh my goodness they wouldn't help him? That is disgraceful. Has any other help been offered for him? What about support for you too? x

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  5. I think there should be so much more help available - and also information to let everyone know where to get the help. Too much of this is still hidden.

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    1. A lot is still hidden I agree that is one of the reasons I started my blog to get it out there. I have nothing to hide or to be ashamed of. More support needs to be there for children the government need to address this.

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  6. That is a frightening statistic, and a sad one at that. If kids don't get the support and help they need early then thay're only going to have worse problems as they get older. It's awful that some fall through the net.

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    1. It is. My son is in a class of 23 and to think that 3 children in his class could be suffering worries me. Luckily his school is really good. It makes me feel angry and sad that so many children fall through the net, it just shouldn't be happening x

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  7. I was 11 or 12 when I was told I was suffering from mental health issues - looking back it had been going on as long as I remember. At 14 I was put in hospital when I came out almost a year later, no one knew what to do with me... I was too old for adolescent care and too young for adult care. In the end they put me under the adult team but they had no idea how to look after me and I went into an adult MH hospital at 17 which was very scary.

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    1. That must have been a scary and hard time for you. You are so strong for coming through it x

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  8. I dread to think what is happening to kids that don't get all the necessary help they need! It should be offered to everyone!

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    1. I agree it should be offered to everyone. It needs to change and quick

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  9. It's a sad state of affairs and I don't think that any child out of the norm is fairly represented in education, we are all different and they should recognise that sometimes kids need additional help and there should be a provision for this.

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    1. Very true. I know there was a scheme in England, I wrote about it previously, where they are training school staff on mental health conditions etc to ensure that all children are being supported properly.

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  10. The figure does sound shocking but doesn't really surprise me, children seem to be put under so much more pressure these days. Support definitely needs to be available for all.

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    1. They do seem to be under more pressure. I have seen some of the stuff my 5 year old is learning (primary 1)and we didnt get half of that until we were in primary 3 at least!

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  11. 3 in every class is huge, so it's great that you're highlighting this issue. Hopefully more will be done to help every child who needs support.

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    1. Thank you :) I hope more is done and soon before the problem gets much worse

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  12. in our area you can self refer your own child too to CHAMS, school refused to refer my daughter as her school work was not affected and she is an over achiever, however she is currently being seen and hopefully soon diagnosed as having PDA which affects her more at home.

    Its such a long process .. and hard

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    1. It is good that you can self refer, maybe every area is different in how they operate. I am annoyed the school didn't refer her though as they also have a duty of care regardless of how a childs school work is. I hope you are both ok x

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  13. Scary statistics and very sad...I expect for older teens the support is even harder to come by as there is a grey area from around 15 and nobody knows who should treat

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    1. I think at 15 they should still fall under child and adolescent services. I feel sorry fot those who are getting passed from one to another and not getting any help x

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  14. I worked in a child and adolescent unit for a couple of shifts. You are right there is care out there but it is under funded and not available to all.

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    1. it is very underfunded and this needs to change quickly

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  15. Thats a very large proportion , its sad that so many people do not get the care required.

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    1. It is a large number. It angers me that so many dont get the care they need and deserve x

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  16. Those statistics are frightening. My teenage niece suffers from mental health and i am shocked how quickly she was discharged from their services through her incomplete recovery.

    I think she only got the relevant help because she has tourettes and luckily is in a special school where the relevant help is accessible but it is worrying to know how many children are suffering out there.

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    1. I think some of them believe that because they are children they will "grow out" of it that its just a phase. Makes me so so angry at the lack of understanding and help.
      How is she getting on now? x

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  17. Lets hope that things are becoming more transparent these days and the kids get the help they need

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  18. Most teachers /schools aren't able to provide care these kids need; there is too many kids in the class to start with... we really need some changes and we need them fast

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    1. Some classes are massive, My son is in primary 1. In his school there are two Primary one classes due to large numbers, with roughly 23 in each. I agree changes need to be made and fast

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